More About the Villanelle

Some readers have expressed interest in the villanelle form. It’s something I learned about at the last residency and I liked it because it has a relatively simple formula and seems to hold up through the revision process nicely. I learned it by using a newspaper article as a prompt and even stealing words directly from the article in some cases. I’ve also found that first drafts are often word but produce a few small gems. Later drafts get down to the heart of the issue and read more smoothly. I invite others to try this and if you’re brave, post your experiments online. If nothing else, enjoy.

Villanelle Form

6 stanzas of 3 lines each. Line 1 and line 3 of the first stanza will repeat throughout the poem at specific spots. There are two rhyming schemes – Rhyme A and Rhyme B.

line 1 rhyme a
rhyme b
line 3 rhyme a

rhyme a
rhyme b
line 1 rhyme a

rhyme a
rhyme b
line 3 rhyme a

rhyme a
rhyme b
line 1 rhyme a

rhyme a
rhyme b
line 3 rhyme a

rhyme a
rhyme b
line 1 rhyme a
line 3 rhyme a

Good luck!